Grudges
by QTR
Summary: A new labtech is introduced to the CSI team. All is well, but what the CSIs don't know, is that this charming labtech has it in for Sara. Rated PG13. Chapter 4 up.
1. Introductions

The smell of fresh coffee was spread throughout the lab. The source of the smell was from the break room, of course. The graveyard shift, led by supervisor Gil Grissom, was sitting inside the room sipping cups of coffee, trying to wake up. At this moment, Nicholas Stokes was pacing through the room in circles. Everyone else was sitting down; Catherine Willows was reading a magazine.

"Stop that," said Sara Sidle, who was rubbing her head tiredly and looking at Nick. "You're making me dizzy," she said taking another sip of coffee. "Sorry," he said stopping. "I'm just wondering where Grissom is!" he said sighing and sitting down next to Warrick Brown. "Don't worry about it- Grissom will come when he comes," said the brown-haired man sitting next to Nick. "Hey, did you guys hear we're getting a new lab-tech?" Catherine asked everyone looking up from her magazine.

"Yeah, uh…DNA, wasn't it?" Warrick said looking at Catherine. "I think so," Nick added to the conversation. "Another one?" Sara said looking up at them. "Yeah…I heard it's a…girl from the Vegas area, just graduated sixth months ago," Catherine said. "That's kind of early to be getting a job over here, don't you think?" Sara asked taking another sip of her coffee. "Yeah, it is," said Greg Sanders, walking inside the break room. "And who found my secret stash of coffee?" he said with a pouting face. "Well, it's not very secret, we've all known where it was," Catherine told him. He looked at everyone in the room in disbelief, who just nodded in response. He sighed and sat down after getting a cup himself.

Grissom quickly walked into the break room. "Come on over here," Grissom told a person who was standing out of sight. They moved into view. The person was a young woman with red hair and small eyes. She wore glasses over her tiny eyes, which magnified them some. "Hello," she said smiling. "Hi," everyone said at different times. "Go ahead; introduce yourself," Grissom told her. She nodded. "My name is Monica Stevens, I graduated from UNLV with honors and a degree in forensic DNA analysis about sixth months ago," she told the team. "Well, nice to meet you," Catherine said standing up and shaking her hand.

"Ditto," Warrick said standing up and shaking her hand as well. "What he said," Nick said pointing to Warrick and shaking the woman's hand. "Ah, Monica? Want some coffee?" Greg asked the woman after shaking her hand. Of course, Greg would offer some of his private coffee to a new lab-tech, obviously a very attractive woman. She just shook her head, but thanked him. "And same here, nice to meet you," Sara said standing up and shaking the girl's hand. The girl just smiled at her, not saying anything.

"All right, Greg, Nick, and Warrick- 419 downtown, there's an officer there. Sara, Catherine- 419 of your own in the mountains. Have fun," he told them as he usually did, handing everyone their files. "And Monica, if you could come with me, we have some paperwork to fill out and then I'll show you around. Catherine, Sara- I'll meet you at the scene afterwards," Grissom said walking out of the break room with the new lab-tech following behind him. Sara and Catherine walked out of the lab and got into a Tahoe.

"That girl was sort of…I don't know, strange," Sara said sitting down in the car. "Really? I didn't notice," Catherine said buckling herself and starting the car. Sara fastened her own seatbelt. "Well, it's just…nah, don't worry about it," she said shaking it off. Catherine and Sara headed to the scene.

Monica had signed the paperwork. "Okay, now I just need a pint of your blood," Grissom told her. "Why?" she asked. "So many reasons," he told her and she rolled up her sleeve.

When Sara and Catherine arrived at the scene, they got out of the car and quickly turned away, gagging. The smell of an old de-comp in the morning…now isn't that something? Sara braved it and walked closer to the body. "Ugh…okay, hello David," she managed to say to the coroner at the scene. "Hey," he said grimacing as he took the thermometer out of the body. "Okay, estimated TOD was 48 hours ago," he said getting up and running off. "Alright…" Catherine said walking up to her. "Let's, um…get the body out of here and then we can process the scene…" she said coughing.

Grissom drove up to the scene two hours later. Sara and Catherine had already processed the scene. "Sorry about that, I got caught up in some stuff," he said walking out of his SUV over to Sara and Catherine. "What'd we got?" he asked. "48 hour de-comp," Sara said looking at him. She could still smell the body even though it was miles away. "Ah…try lemon-" "I know, I know," Sara said a bit aggravated, as her boss had told her that the last time she dealt with a de-comp this bad. "So, what'd you guys collect thus far?" he said looking at the filled bindles and evidence bags.

"Well…we got some foreign substances and also a worn-out shoe- size twelve," Sara said holding up the shoe. "That's it?" Grissom said. "Yeah, so far. We'll check the victim's clothing when we get back to the lab," Catherine told him. "Alright, let's head back," Grissom told them, walking over to his SUV and getting inside.

TBC….

Top of Form


	2. Hatred

"Foreign substance was…paint?" Sara said looking at the results in trace. "Yep; non-toxic," David Hodges of the trace lab said nodding. "So, kid's paint?" Sara said looking at him. "Most likely," he said heading back toward his workspace. Sara left the lab and caught up with Catherine.

"Catherine, foreign substance was kid's non-toxic paint," she said walking along-side her coworker. "Huh, well get this- we got a sample of sweat from inside the shoe, ran it through the computers. Got a hit," she said handing Sara a paper. "Fred…Bondoza?" she said trying to pronounce the last name. "Yeah, Brass is heading over there now," Catherine said taking the paper back. "Okay, I'll see you later," Sara told Catherine as the blonde-haired woman walked off.

Sara walked past the DNA lab and decided to check up on the new lab-tech. "Hey Monica, how's your first day?" she asked with a kind smile. "Fine," the woman said plainly. "Uh, is everything working okay?" Sara asked the woman. "Yes, fine," she said processing some samples. "Um…alright, well, see ya," Sara said walking out. The young lab-tech was holding a small vile and clenched her hand into a fist, making it shatter. Sara heard the glass break and turned around.

"You all right?" she asked her walking over to her. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said not wanting any of Sara's help. She grabbed a towel and dabbed her hand before cleaning up the glass. "Okay," Sara said nodding and walking out. Monica glared at her as she left.

The cases were going smoothly, Catherine and Brass had just helped put an end to the de-comp case and Sara was just going home for the night. She headed to the locker room to find Catherine inside, going through her own things. "Hey," Sara said to Catherine opening up her own locker. "Nice work on the case," she told her. "Thanks," Catherine said smiling and closing her own locker. "Take it easy, Sara," she said walking out of the room and leaving the lab for the night.

Sara nodded as the woman left and fell back against her own locker a little, rubbing her head. She had a sudden headache, not sure what had brought it on. She shrugged it off and closed her locker as she headed out for the night. Grissom, Nick, Warrick, and all the lab-techs had already left for the night- there weren't any cases. Sara felt a sudden jerk in her stomach and ran out of the room and into the bathroom, getting sick.

She walked out of the bathroom. She thought it just must've been something she ate, or maybe she had a bug. She walked past the DNA lab, but stopped when she spotted a figure inside. "Monica?" she said walking over to her. The young lab-tech said nothing. "What are you doing here, everyone else is gone?" she asked her. The lab-tech shrugged. Sara headed out. "Like my little surprise?" the lab-tech asked not looking up from the book in her hand. Sara stopped.

"Surprise?" Sara said turning around. "Yeah, slipped it in your lunch this morning," she said now looking up. "Wait a minute, you're trying to tell me…that you poisoned me?" she said blinking. The lab-tech just nodded. "Why would you-" "Oh, spare me," the young girl said walking out of the lab. "Couldn't you tell I never liked you from the start?" she said looking Sara in the eyes. Sara did get a bad feeling after shaking the girl's hand the first time.

"I changed my name. My brother was a suspect in a sexual assault case four years ago," she said on a more serious tone. "You used to be in San Francisco, so I had to go digging to find your new location," the girl said simply. Sara was a little freaked out that the girl had basically stalked her. "I have no more family, and the other family I do have are in jail. You investigated the case and put him there! It's your fault!" she said grabbing a jagged piece of glass. Sara's eyes widened- it looked smooth, and sharp as hell- it must've taken days, maybe weeks to fancy it.

"You're brother raped three women and stalked four others," Sara said stepping back. "It wasn't my fault. I was doing my job. It was his decision to as whether or not he would commit those crimes," she said backing up a little more. "I do not regret what I did one bit," she told the girl. The girl's eyes were fuming with rage.

"You bitch!" she yelled running at her. Sara jumped out of the way, but the girl still nicked her arm with the sharp object. Sara kicked the weapon out of the girl's hand and it shattered onto the ground- it was made of glass, no wonder. The girl charged at Sara and knocked her into the DNA lab table, knocking off several bottles and books. The girl grabbed a hold of Sara's neck and tried strangling her, but Sara kicked her away.

The girl quickly regained her memento and punched her in the face. Sara fell back a few steps before the girl kicked her in the stomach, sending Sara to her knees. She then pushed her through the glass wall separating the rooms and Sara winced on the ground in pain, blood trickling down her face from the small cuts made by the glass. The girl punched her until Sara's own blood was all over the girl's hands, and Sara fell on the ground, motionless. The girl grabbed her pager from her bag and stomped on it, as she did to her cell phone as well.

The 'charming' lab-tech left the motionless Sara on the ground in a pile of broken glass, unconscious and badly beaten.

TBC…


	3. Tears

_Sara was walking through the lab at nighttime, and everything seemed to be in order. She appeared to be alone, but then she spotted someone in one of the labs. She asked them to see what they were still doing at the lab. Then- boom, boom, and boom. Sara was brutally beaten to the ground and left that way for someone to find her. _

Grissom awoke in a cold sweat after the dream had ended. He rubbed his head, sweat coming off onto his fingers. He was still paranoid, even though it had been a mere dream. What scared him even more though, was when his cell phone rang.

Grissom answered the phone. "Yeah?" There was a long silence. "Oh…oh my god," he said jumping out of his bed. He was already dressed. "I'm on my way!" he said hanging his phone up. The phone call had been from Brass- an officer had found Sara beaten in the lab.

As he drove up to the lab, he jumped out of his car. An ambulance was already at the scene and Sara was being taken over to the ambulance on a gurney. He ran over to her. "Sara, please…" he said clenching her hand tightly. She looked horrible- she had blood all over her face, all of it hers. She had several bruises and cuts on her face, not to mention all over her body. He climbed into the ambulance as they closed the doors and sat next to her as they drove her to the hospital.

Several hours passed. Grissom held his hands in his lap. He had been waiting for at least three hours now, and he just wanted to see if Sara was okay. Who could've done something like this to her? She was such a kind and sweet person; the thought of someone doing this to her made him sick. Finally, a doctor came out of the doors. "Dr. Grissom?" he said walking over to him.

"Yes?" Grissom said standing up quickly. He sighed. "She's going to need stitches on her left arm, and she also has a fractured rib, small concussion, and many facial fractures. She should be fine with a lot of rest. You can go see her now, though she's not awake," he told him leading him into the emergency room. He walked through the room looking from door to door, seeing people in pain- one room held a small child with a shattered knee-cap and another held an older man with a broken leg and miss-located shoulder. He walked into the room Sara was in and tears formed in his eyes.

They had cleaned the blood off her face, but all the cuts and bruising were still visible. He sat next to her and held her hand as a tear ran down his cheek. "Sara…" he said as the tears came down even more now. "Who…did this to you?" he said wiping the tears away. The heart monitor was beeping at a regular speed; that made him feel good. But…just seeing her in a hospital, looking to be in so much pain…it reduced him to tears. He put his head down on the hospital bed near her hand and cried. He let it all out, and he never would have done it if Sara had been awake. But then…he felt something.

His hand was being clenched…lightly, but the hand he held in his own was clenching it. It was Sara! He quickly looked up to see a small smile form on the woman's face. "I didn't know you were that weak, Grissom," she said with her eyes still closed, her voice hoarse. He didn't hold back the tears now- he didn't care. He just said her name and hugged her, crying on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm okay…" she told him, rubbing his shoulder. "But…you're crushing me," she told him and he quickly moved away, slightly embarrassed.

"Sara…who did this to you?" Grissom asked her on a more serious tone. Sara's memory was hazy, yet she remembered the attacker finally. She only said one word- Monica. Grissom raised a brow, but he didn't doubt her word. He was going to find that old 'charming' lab-tech, even if it killed him.

TBC…


	4. Happy Ending

Grissom left the hospital. He went straight to the lab to see if he could find Monica Steven's address. He found it, and he quickly got into his SUV and drove to the address. To his surprise, he found a car out front and the lights on inside the house. He drew his gun and walked around the house cautiously. "I'm with the Las Vegas crime lab, open up!" he said holding his gun in front of him. No answer. He kicked the door down and looked inside. He saw Monica and her brother standing next to each other.

"Monica Stevens, you are under arrest for assaulting an officer and attempted murder," he said, his gun still in front of him. "And you," he said looking at her brother. "Are going right back to jail," he told the brother. "Says who?" Monica said, obviously not planning on going anywhere, especially not jail. Grissom looked down to see her hands covered in blood- she hadn't washed Sara's blood off of her hands. This made Grissom angry to see her blood on over her.

"Me," he said moving closer. "Sara Sidle- name ring a bell?" he said looking at her. "Yes, as a matter of fact," she said calmly. "I took care of her; she was the reason my brother went to jail," she said simply. "No, you're brother had a choice and he chose poorly," he told her. "That's just what that bitch told me…" she said angrily. "Take care of him," she told her brother who grinned and took out his own gun. An all-too familiar voice was heard outside, and it soon came into the building. "Sara, what the hell are you doing here?" Grissom asked turning her attention to Sara, who had just ran inside the house.

"I was worried," she told him, holding her own gun in her hands. He sighed. "You're supposed to be at the hospital!" he told her. Sara didn't care where she was supposed to be; she wasn't about to let him go into the house alone. The brother, seeing his opportunity, fired a round at Grissom. "Grissom!" Sara grabbed his arm and they ducked. The bullet hit just above Grissom's head. Sara fired a round and the brother ran further into the house. Grissom turned to Sara. "Stay here," he told her and ran off to find the brother.

Sara wasn't too keen on the idea, so she ran after him. She ran only to bump into the brother who was startled as she collided with him and pointed his gun at her. Grissom heard the collision and quickly shot the man before he could pull his own trigger. He ran over to Sara. "Are you okay?" he asked holding both her shoulders. She just nodded. He sighed a bit aggravated.

"I told you to wait," he said. "I know, but I'm just too stubborn to listen- remember? I have a problem with authority, and besides- you've always been a little more than a boss to me," she said smiling, quoting her past speeches. He smiled as he led her out and Brass came in arresting Monica Stevens.

"I'm going to take you back to the hospital," Grissom told her, helping her inside his car. She sighed. "Okay." He got inside the car and drove her to Desert Palms hospital, and led her inside. As she got situated in her old room, he said goodbye and walked out, smiling to himself. He made a quick shop at the gift shop before leaving- it was closed, but they opened it up especially for him. He went inside and found a nice plant.

"How much for this plant?" he asked pointing to said plant. "I know a girl; she likes vegetation."

The End


End file.
